Blessed Irony

January 24, 2011 by Rieshy
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My 19 year old son is leaving soon for an internship in Haiti.  He'll be doing construction and working at an orphanage for several months. 

I headed off to try to find some lightweight clothing suitable for the Caribbean rainy season.  Hmmmm, not much available around here this time of year, especially not at the cheaper stores.  I found myself at an outdoorsy shop buying permethrin and mosquito netting and some clothing.

Spf 50 shirts and pants that can be washed in a sink and trusted to drip dry overnight. Shirts and pants that are lightweight and vented, and promise not to hold odor.  Clothing that rolls up into the smallest of bags and come out unwrinkled.

In other words, clothing that is Not Cheap.

My son, who hates spending money, who- with the exception of Converse sneakers- could care less about fashion, and who prefers getting his clothing at GoodWill,  spent more on one outfit than he's ever spent on one outfit before.

The irony was not lost on us.  The blessing of being able to go to a store and buy clothing that will keep him healthy and comfortable was also not lost on us.

Hopefully, in Haiti, the blessing of being odorless will not be lost on the people he works alongside.



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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow. what an adventure!
I hate spending money. That is all.

Julie Anne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

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